Bleak Winter – Oil Painting

The weather has changed dramatically. It was so mild, at Christmas, already the daffodils were showing above ground, unusually, before the snowdrops. Until now the cattle were outdoors, but now are housed, and the landscape is empty except for me and the dog. This sky presented itself to me so I had to paint its portrait, with the ground as an appendage.

There were 3 distinct layers to the sky. The distant blue veil, cream coloured wispy clouds and darker and nearer clouds. The underlying structure to the painting is X shaped, with the centre of the X on the buildings. I think in a relatively ’empty’ scene its good to have structure which is not immediately apparent, and in this picture, pulls the viewer quickly into the scene towards a focal point. The trick is not to have this un-natural structure, such as the X shape, being part of the scene. The contradiction is, if its very noticeable to the critical eye, it hasn’t worked. It is only an issue to those interested in the construction of the scene.

The colours are: Indian Red & Raw Umber (red part), Raw Sienna (yellow part), Cobalt Blue (blue part) and black and white. Raw Umber is a brown colour with a hint of red. I increase this ‘redness’ with additions of small amounts of Indian Red. The Raw Sienna is more yellow than Yellow Ochre, which I normally use, and this was needed for those sunlit clouds. Cobalt Blue is such a good mixer, especially with the ‘earth’ colours, which the others are.

Jane thank you for the nomination. I feel very honoured that you chose me. I’ve read the requirements of accepting the award and I’m sorry to say I would not have the time to do justice to acceptance. I don’t even have time to respond to the wonderful comments I receive in response to my posts. I’m happy to know that there are people out there who are getting something from what I dump onto the blog. Your comments are always positive and so encouraging as is this nomination. Thank you again.

Liam, no problem with acceptance of this award as there is no time limit on it…so should a window of opportunity arise then it’s still there for you. I just wanted you to know how much I love your paintings and the way you present your blog (no dump in sight!)..take care and keep blogging, Jane

I am always amazed at your technical knowledge of “construction” , and the way various paints interact with each other. ( referring to your “time-lapse” post) . I realize there is so very much I don’t know about the technical side of painting.

I have a friend in her 70’s who is beginning to re-kindle an old interest in oil painting, so I’ll send her a link to your site; I know it’ll be a great help to her.

Petite Pursuits
I’m an Irish girl who has finally given in to an unexplored love/obsession with dolls houses and miniatures. My blog journey to document, share with others, and most of all LEARN, starts here.

The Nest
I live in East Galway, Ireland. I am an artist, homeopath and mother to our four boys and little girl, and wife to Fergal. With our little hairy dog, too many cats, hens, cockerel and two little white ducks, we home educate our children.